Vacuum cleaner suction tool with orbital nozzles for cleaning deep pile shag rugs

ABSTRACT

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a suction cleaning tool having a plurality of elongated tube-like nozzles extending downwardly from a manifold supported from a base member by rubber mounts and rapidly moved, either back and forth or orbitally, by a suitable electric motor secured to the base member, or the manifold may be mounted for reciprocating pivotal movement. An elongated suction nozzle is also supported beneath the base member in a manner permitting bertical movement of the nozzle. The base member is provided with a supporting wheel at each end and at the center with an elbow member to which may be coupled a hollow wand which serves as both a manipulating handle and suction conduit means to the opposite end of which may be connected a flexible suction hose leading to a source of suction in a vacuum cleaner. The elbow is connected to both the manifold and the elongated suction nozzle and valve means, operable by a control handle on the wand, is provided for selectively connecting the elbow to either the manifold or the nozzle, or to both.

United States Patent 1191 Evans et al.

[ 1 Jan. 29, 1974 VACUUM CLEANER SUCTION TOOL WITH ORBITAL NOZZLES FOR CLEANING DEEP PILE SHAG RUGS [75] Inventors: Robert A. Evans; Horace W.

Brundage, both of Stamford, Conn.

[73] Assignee: Consolidated Foods Corporation,

Old Greenwich, Conn.

22 Filed: Jan. 3, 1973 [21] Appl. No..: 321,806

Related US. Application Data [62] Division ofSer.No.l52,7l4,.lune24,1971,

abandoned.

[52]U.S.Cl ..15/416, 15/359, 15/382,

15/397 [51] Int. Cl A471 9/04 [58] Field of Search..... 15/359, 379, 380, 381, 397, 15/416, 382

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,953,350 4/1934 Kitto ,j. 15/380 2,020,600 11/1935 Becker 15/359 X 2,077,958 4/1937 Smellie 15/381 X 3,708,824 1/1973 Holubinka 15/416 X Primary Examiner-Harvey C. Hornsby Assistant ExaminerC. K. Moore 5 7 ABSTRACT In accordance with the present invention there is provided a suction cleaning tool having a plurality of elongated tube-like nozzles extending downwardly from-a manifold supported from a base member by rubber mounts and rapidly moved, either back and forth or orbitally, by a suitable electric motor secured to the base member, or the manifold may be mounted for reciprocating pivotal movement. An elongated suction nozzle is also supported beneath the base member in a manner permitting bertical movement of the nozzle.

The base memberis provided with a supporting wheel at each end and at the center with an elbow member to which may be coupled a-hollow wand which serves as both a manipulating handle and suction conduit means to the opposite end of which may be connected a flexible suction hose leading to a source of suction in a vacuum cleaner. The elbow is connected to both-the manifold and the elongated suction nozzle and valve means, operable by a control handle on the wand, is provided for selectively connecting the elbow to either the manifold or the nozzle, or to both.

5 Claims, Drawing Figures 1 VACUUM CLEANER SUCTION TOOL WIT ORBITAL NOZZLES FOR CLEANING DEEP PILE SHAG RUGS This application is a division of Application Ser. No. 152,714, filed June 24, 1971, and now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, so-called shag rugs have become quite popular. The fibers forming the pile are exceedingly long, usually several inches, thus making vacuum cleaning of such a rug very difficult. The ordinary suction nozzle, which is elongated in a direction at right angles to the normal direction of the movement of the nozzle, resists movement over the rug as the lips of the nozzle tend to dig into the pile. Moreover, inasmuch as the nozzle will only slide over the fibers,-the nozzle opening is held so far above the base of the rug as to prevent the air flow from penetrating deeply enough to remove deeply embedded dirt. In addition, the use of an ordinary nozzle tends to mat down the fibers, giving the surface of the rug an unattractive appearance. A suction nozzle provided with a motor-driven rotary brush has all the above disadvantages, and in addition, the long fibers are apt to get wrapped around the brush and the rotary brush causes undesirable fuzzing or untwisting of the rug fibers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The elongated tube-like nozzles of the suction tool in accordance with the present invention are able to penetrate the pile so that their lower open ends are close to the base of the rug and hence the air flow into the nozzles is able to entrain and remove deeply embedded dirt. The rapid movement imparted to the nozzles by the motor serves to loosen dirt by agitation and to make it easier to move the nozzles through the pile as the suction tool is moved back and forth. The elongated suctio'n nozzle, being vertically movable with respect to the base member and urged downwardly only by its own light weight, floats on the upper surface of the rug with little tendency to dig in and hence is in a position to remove surface litter. The valve means permit the operator to concentrate suction at either the tube-like nozzles for deep dirt cleaning or at the floating nozzle for surface cleaning, or to distribute the suction between the two. Whether or not suction is applied to the tube-like nozzles, they act as a comb when the suction tool is moved back and forth over the rug, giving a pleasing appearance to the latter.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a suction cleaning tool in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view, partially broken away, on an enlarged scale of the tool shown in FIG. 1, but with a d rative hood removed;

FIG, 3 is'a top view, partially broken away, of the nozzle shown in- FIG. 2

a FIG. 4 is a bottom view, partially broken away, of the tool shown in the preceeding Figures;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is a view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 5.

Referring to the drawings, reference character 10 designates an elongated base member to the opposite ends of which depend brackets 12 carrying supporting wheels 14. Supported below the base member 10 by a pair of flexible rubber mounts 16 is an elongated manifold 18 from the bottom of which extends a plurality of spaced tube-like nozzles 20. These mounts permit limited horizontal movement of the manifold. The manifold is connected by a piece of flexible tubing 22 to a branch 23 of a Y connection 24 which also serves as an elbow to which may be connected a wand 26, all of which constitute conduit means, the angle of the elbow being such that the wand extends rearwardly and upwardly from the base member 10 as is shown in FIG. 1. The upper end of the wand may be connected by means of a flexible hose with a vacuum cleaner containing a motor-fan unit for creating suction.

Mounted on the upper side of base member 10 is an electric motor 28 having a driving pulley 30 which is engaged by a belt 32. The latter runs over a pair of idler pulleys 34, rotatably' mounted on a shaft 36 supported by a block 38 secured to the lower side of the base member 10, and drives a pulley 40 fixed to a shaft 42 which is rotatably supported in a suitable bearing carried by the base member. Extending from the lower end of shaft 42 is a pin 44 which is off center with respect to the shaft as is shown particularly in FIG. 6. This pin is received in a bearing formed in a disc 46 which is rigidly secured to manifold 18. Consequently, rotation of pulley 40 and shaft 42 imparts an orbital motion to disc 46, manifold 18 and the tube-like nozzles 20, the manifold being movable in this manner by virtue of the flexible mounts 16 and the flexible tubing 22.

An elongated suction nozzle 50 having gliding pads 51 at opposite ends and wide lips 53 is supported below base member 10 so as to be capable of vertical movement. As is shown particularly in FIG. 2, the nozzle 50 is provided-with a pair of vertical tubes 52 communicating with the interior of the nozzl'e adjacent to the opposite ends thereof. Tubes 52 are telescopically received within tubes 54 depending from base member 10. The upper ends of the tubes 52 are formed with outwardly extending flanges 56 which cooperate with inwardly extending flanges 58 at the lower ends of tubes 54 to prevent complete separation of the tubes. In its lower-most position shown in FIG. 5, the lower surface of nozzle 50 is slightly above the lower ends of nozzles 20, while in its upper-most position shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface of nozzle 50 is substantially above the lower ends of nozzles 20.

Member 10 is formed with apertures 60 in alignment with tubes 54 and a channel member 62 extends over the apertures and along one side of motor 28 to beyond the rear edge of member 10 where it is connected by a conduit 64 with the other branch 65 of Y connection A butterfly valve member 66 (FIG. 4) is secured to a pivotally mounted pin 68, which is located between the two branches of the Y and extends through the upper wall thereof, where it carries an arm 70 (FIG. 3).

' Secured to the outer end of the arm isa stiff wire 72 ately to indicate the position of the valve, which by means of the handle may be set in the intermediate position shown in FIG. 4 so as to connect both the manifold l8 and the nozzle 50 to the wand 26, or in either of its extreme positions so as to block theflow of air from either the manifold or the nozzle, respectively.

A decorative hood member 80 is secured to the top side of base member 10 so as to protect the conceal the motor 28 and other parts carried on the base member.

When using the tool on a deep pile shag rug, the wheels 14 sink into the pile, but support the base member 10 above the upper surface of the pile, while the tube-like nozzles penetrate the pile so that their lower open ends are close to the base of the rug. The elongated nozzle 50, on the other hand, by reason of the gliding pads 51 and wide lips 53 rests on the upper surface of the pile, the telescopic connection between the nozzle and the base member permitting the former to ride or float on the surface, thus accommodating itself to piles of different depth.

For the removal of deeply embedded dirt, the valve 66 is positioned to close off branch 65 and connection 64, thus causing all the air to enter through the tubelike nozzles 20. The cleaning tool is then moved back and forth, the orbital movement imparted to the nozzles greatly reducing the resistance to movement of the nozzles through the pile. The rapid orbital movement also aids in loosening dirt and the air flow into the lower open ends of the nozzles is able to entrain and remove deeply embedded dirt. The movement of the tool back and forth causes the nozzles 20 to comb the fibers of the pile, thus producing an attractive appearance of the rug.

While there has been shown and described means for imparting orbital movement to the manifold 18 and nozzles 20, similar results would be obtained if a reciprocating linear'movement in a horizontal plan were imparted to these parts, or if they were cause to pivot back and forth about a horizontal axis. 7

If it is desired to remove surface litter, the valve 66 is shifted to the opposite position, which closes the passage through branch 23 and tubing 22, thus concentrating the suction at nozzle 50. As this nozzle rides on the surface of the pile, it is able to pick up dirt and litter from the surface. The orbital motion of the tube-like nozzles 20 aids in their movement through the pile, as previously described and the vibration imparted to the cleaning tool prevents the telesocpic connections between tube 52 and 54 from sticking, thus assuring that the nozzle 50 will drop down and ride on the surface of the rug.

If it is desired to accomplish both deep dirt and surface litter cleaning at the same time, the valve 66 may be set at the intermediate position shown in FIG. 4 so that the air flow is distributed between both the nozzle 50 and the nozzles 20, but of course, this results in less air flow through each.

There is thus provided a suction cleaning tool which may be moved with relative ease through the deep pile of a shag rug and which is able to remove both embedded dirt and surface litter and in addition imparts an attractive appearance to a rug of this type.

While one move or less specific embodiment of the invention has been shown, it is to be understood that this has been done for the purpose of illustration only, and the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereby but is to be determined from the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a suction cleaning tool for cleaning high pile shag rugs, a base member, means for movably supporting said member above the surface of a rug, a manifold, means for supporting said manifold beneath said member in a manner permitting limited movement thereof relative to said member, a plurality of spaced tube-like nozzles depending from said manifold for penetrating the pile of the rug, conduit means for connecting said manifold to a source of suction, a motor mounted on said base member, transmission means between said motor and said manifold for imparting rapid limited movement to said manifold anddepending nozzles, an elongated surface cleaning nozzle connected to said conduit means, and means for supporting said elongated nozzle below said base member in a manner permitting vertical movement thereof.

2. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 1 including valve means in said conduit means for disconnecting either said manifold or said elongated nozzle from said source of suction.

3. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 2 in which said valve means has an intermediate position connecting simultaneously both said manifold and said elongated nozzle to said source of suction.

4. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 2 including a manipulating handle extending upwardly from said base member, a valve control handle movably mounted on said manipulating handle and means for operating said valve means in response to movement of said control handle.-

5. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said elongated nozzle permits vertical movement thereof between a lower position in which the lower surface of said elongated nozzle is slightly above the lower ends of said tube-like nozzles to an upper position in which said surface is substantially ablve said lower ends. 

1. In a suction cleaning tool for cleaning high pile shag rugs, a base member, means for movably supporting said member above the Surface of a rug, a manifold, means for supporting said manifold beneath said member in a manner permitting limited movement thereof relative to said member, a plurality of spaced tube-like nozzles depending from said manifold for penetrating the pile of the rug, conduit means for connecting said manifold to a source of suction, a motor mounted on said base member, transmission means between said motor and said manifold for imparting rapid limited movement to said manifold and depending nozzles, an elongated surface cleaning nozzle connected to said conduit means, and means for supporting said elongated nozzle below said base member in a manner permitting vertical movement thereof.
 2. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 1 including valve means in said conduit means for disconnecting either said manifold or said elongated nozzle from said source of suction.
 3. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 2 in which said valve means has an intermediate position connecting simultaneously both said manifold and said elongated nozzle to said source of suction.
 4. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 2 including a manipulating handle extending upwardly from said base member, a valve control handle movably mounted on said manipulating handle and means for operating said valve means in response to movement of said control handle.
 5. A suction cleaning tool as described in claim 1 wherein said means for supporting said elongated nozzle permits vertical movement thereof between a lower position in which the lower surface of said elongated nozzle is slightly above the lower ends of said tube-like nozzles to an upper position in which said surface is substantially ablve said lower ends. 